Overlord of the Wilderness

In a remote courtyard in Python City.

Zhaang Ye was using his immense willpower to endure unimaginable pain, circulating the True Qi within his body inch by inch.

Back at the True Hall, with the help of the thousand-zhang Pseudo Spirit Tree, Zhaang Ye had managed to cultivate the Qi Refining Technique to the 5th Layer in one fell swoop. He was only two layers away from mastering the Qi Refining Technique and reaching the Great Success Realm.

The pain involved in reaching the 6th and 7th Layers would be countless times greater than that of the 5th Layer. If he had forced his cultivation, his body would have suffered immense damage, even if his will could have withstood it. Considering this, Zhaang Ye had not continued to cultivate it at the time.

After cultivating the Dragon Elephant Skill to the 6th Layer, Zhaang Ye’s body had undergone another refinement, becoming even more formidable. Therefore, Zhaang Ye intended to push through and cultivate the Qi Refining Technique to the Seventh Layer, completely purging the impurities from his body and making his True Qi even purer.

”Ah!”

Three days later, Zhaang Ye let out a low growl and stood up, his face deathly pale. The pain of cultivating the 6th Layer of the Qi Refining Technique was more than ten times stronger than the 5th. Even with his iron will, the boundless agony had tortured him to the brink of death, and he had nearly passed out.

After recovering from the boundless pain, Zhaang Ye sensed the True Qi within his body, and a hint of joy finally appeared on his face. Although he had suffered immense pain over the past three days, through this terrifying ordeal, Zhaang Ye’s True Qi had once again become purer. A significant amount of impurities had also been expelled from his body.

After resting for half a day, Zhaang Ye continued to charge toward the Seventh Layer of the Qi Refining Technique.

The Seventh Layer of the Qi Refining Technique was even more agonizing and unbearable than Zhaang Ye had imagined. He cultivated for a full eight days, enduring immense pain for all eight days, yet there was still no sign of a breakthrough.

On the ninth day, Zhaang Ye suddenly felt the pain in his body vanish in an instant. It was replaced by a feeling of extreme comfort, as if his entire being had transformed into formless, intangible wind, soaring freely through the sky. It was also like he had drunk the world’s most delicious nectar and ambrosia, every pore of his body comfortable to the extreme from the inside out. This was a stark contrast to the immense pain from before.

’Hm? What’s going on?’ Zhaang Ye wondered, slightly puzzled.

Just as Zhaang Ye was feeling puzzled, the sensation of extreme comfort suddenly vanished. An immense pain enveloped him, forcibly dragging him from heaven down into hell.

”Hmph!”

The contrast between extreme pleasure and extreme pain nearly caused Zhaang Ye to lose control of his Heart Spirit. Fortunately, his will was exceptionally resilient, and he managed not to stop the circulation of his Cultivation Technique.

In the time that followed, Zhaang Ye alternated between moments of extreme comfort and moments of extreme pain. This cycle repeated a full nine times before it finally stopped, and he entered the Seventh Layer of the Qi Refining Technique.

PUFF— Zhaang Ye opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of turbid air. This turbid air was formed from the impurities of the elixirs in his body. After expelling it, the True Qi in his body instantly became clear and pure. Although this True Qi was not yet Innate True Qi, its purity far surpassed that of other Martial Artists at his level.

”Excellent, excellent!” Zhaang Ye stood up, feeling refreshed and invigorated, and couldn’t help but cry out in approval. Circulating the True Qi in his body, he was filled with joy. ’My True Qi’s quantity might not compare to a Martial Arts Ninth-Layer expert, but in terms of quality, it’s not the least bit inferior! My True Qi has become pure, and my meridians, tempered by the Dragon Elephant Power, have also become incredibly resilient. Now I just need to focus on absorbing Essence Stones, and I’ll be able to advance rapidly!’

After washing up, Zhaang Ye eagerly began to cultivate.

Zhaang Ye was quite wealthy at the moment. He possessed over a hundred Essence Stones, dozens of which were Top-grade Essence Qi Stones. These top-grade stones contained pure Heaven and Earth Essence Qi and could be used for cultivation by Martial Arts Ninth-Layer experts. Since Zhaang Ye’s True Qi was now as pure as a Ninth-Layer expert’s, he decided to use the Top-grade Essence Qi Stones directly for his cultivation.

Taking an Essence Stone in hand, Zhaang Ye circulated his Cultivation Technique slightly, and the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi from the stone immediately began to flow into his body in a steady stream.

Continuously absorbing and refining, the True Qi in Zhaang Ye’s dantian rapidly filled to the brim, and his cultivation level soared.

Three days later, the Top-grade Essence Qi Stone in Zhaang Ye’s hand let out a soft CRACK. With this sound, a condensed aura suddenly erupted from Zhaang Ye’s body as he broke through to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Middle Stage.

Zhaang Ye’s expression was calm. He tossed the cracked Essence Stone aside, replaced it with a new Top-grade Essence Qi Stone, and continued to cultivate.

Six days later, Zhaang Ye broke through to the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Late Stage.

Nine days later, Zhaang Ye reached the peak of the Martial Arts Fifth Layer.

Half a month later, a soft rumble echoed from within Zhaang Ye’s body. Following the rumble, his entire body shuddered, and his True Qi formed an Air Wall around him.

Condensing True Qi into a wall was a feat only a Martial Arts Sixth-Layer expert could achieve. The fact that Zhaang Ye could now form this wall meant he had broken through to the Martial Arts Sixth Layer!

In just half a month, he had raised his cultivation from the Early Stage of the Martial Arts Fifth Layer to the Early-stage Sixth Layer, advancing an entire major realm. Even Zhaang Ye himself found this cultivation speed hard to believe!

”Not enough, not enough!” After circulating the True Qi in his body, a crazed look appeared in Zhaang Ye’s eyes. ’Even though I’ve reached the Martial Arts Sixth Layer in one go, I still pale in comparison to a genius expert like Lingruo Sea! My meridians, tempered by the Dragon Elephant Power, are now even more resilient than those of a Martial Arts Eighth Layer Martial Artist. I must continue to cultivate. I have to reach the Martial Arts Seventh Layer, at the very least!’

The experts of the Desolate Continent could be divided into three generations by age: old, middle-aged, and young. The older generation of powerhouses referred to experts on the level of the True Hall Master or the Python City Lord. These masters were mostly over eighty years old and possessed at least a Martial Arts Ninth-Layer cultivation. They were all famous figures within a radius of tens of millions of miles.

The middle-aged experts were masters between forty and eighty years old. This category of experts had at least the strength of the Martial Arts Seventh Layer and were well-known figures within a radius of millions of miles. A large portion of these people were patriarchs or Elders of their respective families, holding positions of great power and influence.

The young experts were masters under the age of forty. Young masters hadn’t been cultivating for long, so their cultivation levels were generally not very high. However, there were always exceptions. Some exceptionally talented young masters who had great fortuitous encounters possessed strength that could even surpass that of the middle-aged experts. There were even some heaven-defying individuals who could go toe-to-toe with the older generation of powerhouses.

Zhaang Ye’s innate talent was average, but he had been blessed with great opportunities. By the time he reached the Martial Arts Sixth Layer, other young masters his age were still hovering between the Martial Arts Third Layer and Fourth Layer, with the Martial Arts Fifth Layer a distant dream. This accomplishment was more than enough to look down upon his peers. However, Zhaang Ye’s target was no longer the young masters of his own generation.

Zhaang Ye’s goal now was to suppress the geniuses of his generation, surpass the experts of the middle-aged generation, measure up to the powerhouses of the older generation, and truly step out of the small corner of the world that was the Wei Kingdom.

With such a goal, Zhaang Ye was, of course, not satisfied with his current cultivation level.

Day by day, time passed as Zhaang Ye cultivated.

Half a month later, Zhaang Ye consolidated his realm at the Early-stage Sixth Layer and broke through to the Mid-stage of the Martial Arts Sixth Layer.

A month later, Zhaang Ye broke through once again, entering the Late Stage of the Martial Arts Sixth Layer.

After another twenty-odd days of cultivation, the True Qi outside Zhaang Ye’s body became increasingly condensed. The True Qi, which had been like a wall, was compressed again and again by Zhaang Ye. Finally, he reached the Sixth Layer Peak, just a hair’s breadth away from the Martial Arts Seventh Layer.

Having reached the Sixth Layer Peak, Zhaang Ye took stock of his Essence Stones. It was only then that he discovered he had used up more than forty Top-grade Essence Qi Stones in the past two or three months. Now, he only had fifteen left.

’Fifteen Top-grade Essence Qi Stones should be enough for me to cultivate to the Early-stage Seventh Layer. If the Essence Stones aren’t enough, I still have half a bottle of top-grade Qi Gathering Pills I can use. I don’t need to worry about not having enough Heaven and Earth Essence Qi.’ After checking his remaining supplies, Zhaang Ye’s mind was put at ease.

The half bottle of top-grade Qi Gathering Pills in Zhaang Ye’s possession had been taken from Mei Yuntian’s body. These pills were refined from Pseudo Spirit Tree Fruit, and their value surpassed even that of Top-grade Essence Qi Stones. They were intended for consumption by Martial Arts Eighth Layer and Ninth-Layer Experts. For Zhaang Ye to use such a Top-Grade Elixir to advance to the Martial Arts Seventh Layer was a bit of a waste. However, since he had acquired them for free, Zhaang Ye didn’t feel the slightest bit of heartache.

After inventorying his items, Zhaang Ye continued to cultivate.

Seven days later, a series of crackling pops suddenly erupted from around Zhaang Ye’s body. These popping sounds were the result of his True Qi being compressed to its absolute limit.

If a Martial Artist could freely control this extremely compressed True Qi, manipulating it at will, they would have entered the Martial Arts Seventh Layer and gained the ability to use the skill, Binding Qi into Thunder.

’The time has come!’ Zhaang Ye felt the crackling outside his body. With a stir of his heart, he tossed a long-prepared top-grade Qi Gathering Pill into his mouth.

The top-grade Qi Gathering Pill contained extremely pure Heaven and Earth Essence Qi. The moment the pill entered Zhaang Ye’s mouth, it instantly transformed into a torrential flood of Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, surging endlessly to replenish his dantian.

CRACK!

Following the soft sound, the crackling of True Qi around Zhaang Ye’s body instantly ceased. He had finally gained complete mastery over his own True Qi, able to command it at will. He had broken through to the Martial Arts Seventh Layer!

Having successfully broken through to the Martial Arts Seventh Layer, Zhaang Ye sensed a different kind of power. The Dragon Elephant Power had given him a sense of physical might, but the Martial Arts Seventh Layer gave him a sense of power that was not only physical, but also of the soul.

Zhaang Ye felt that his soul and Spiritual Will had condensed to their absolute limit. He had a faint premonition that if his Soul Power and Spiritual Will were to condense even further, he would likely gain a mysterious and profound power—Spiritual Power!

’Strange, why am I having this feeling? Isn’t Spiritual Power something one can only possess after cultivating to the Martial Arts Ninth Layer?’ Zhaang Ye shook his head, casting the strange feeling from his mind. He took a few steps around the courtyard and was just about to continue cultivating when he heard the faint sound of footsteps from outside.

A hushed voice sounded, ”Sirs, the person in this courtyard hasn’t come out for several months. If this person is really the one you’re looking for, you must not forget about me...”

Zhaang Ye’s brow twitched. Before he could even make a sound, he heard a loud BOOM! The courtyard gate had been violently kicked open, and three or four people swaggered inside.